


Does Anybody Actually Know The Plot

by GSAnonymous



Category: Black Friday - Team StarKid, The Guy Who Didn't Like Musicals - Team StarKid
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, Emma and Lex are both adhd, F/M, Frank is literally here to screw everyone over, Gen, M/M, Northville High au, Paul and Hannah are autistic, Paulkins - Freeform, Psychic Abilities, The Black and White (Black Friday), i'll add tags as i go, less lexthan than you'd expect, surprisingly dark, tws in notes before chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-13
Updated: 2020-10-13
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:55:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26984005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GSAnonymous/pseuds/GSAnonymous
Summary: Lex just wanted to see a movie with her little sister Hannah. She didn't expect to be transported to an alternative reality.Emma just wanted a night with her partner Paul. She didn't  expect to wake up in a strange elf hell.Xander Lee just wanted to have a better understanding of the universe.  He didn't expect his husband to disappear in a freak explosion.None of them could have expected that the most dangerous challenge they'd face was not knowing the plot to some cheesy holiday movie.
Relationships: Emma Perkins & Ted, Hannah Foster & Lex Foster, Lex Foster & Emma Perkins, Lex Foster & John McNamara, Lex Foster/Ethan Green, Paul Matthews & Emma Perkins, Paul Matthews/Emma Perkins, Xander Lee/John McNamara
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30





	Does Anybody Actually Know The Plot

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Welcome to my first ever fic! I'm definitely a STEM gal and I've never done much creative writing so this will be an interesting adventure for all parties involved. This also means this fic definitely reads like an academic paper.
> 
> Tw: Explosions, Injury, Blood
> 
> If something I didn't mention is triggering to you, please let me know so I can warn you in the future.

_7:50, Hatchetfield Cineplex._

Lex wasn’t quite sure why she was so anxious. It had been a fairly quiet day at work, Frank had the day off and Linda hadn’t shown up for over a week. She was also able to pay the bills on the trailer and had almost five hundred extra bucks to spend on whatever she so desired. Of course, most of it was going to be under the floorboards where her mother couldn't find it, but it was exciting nonetheless. In short, it wasn’t just a quiet day, but it was an abnormally good day. It was a long streak of good luck, and good luck always came to an end sooner or later in Lex’s life. But for now, she decided to push this luck. She decided to spend fifty dollars from the Floor Fund™ to give Hannah a good day (and also buy a couple new shirts for herself). Beside her, Hannah was playing with the button on the end of one of Lex’s newly purchased flannels. Her sister saw Lex walk through the door with it and immediately latched onto it. It was a size too big for the young girl, but Hannah had been excited so Lex simply let her sister have it. 

The pair had gone out and got pastries and cocoa from a little coffee shop called Beanies downtown. Lex thought the cafe was too goddamn expensive, but Hannah really seemed to love their hot cocoa ever since the sisters went for the first time several years ago. Lex was originally going to just take the pair to the Starbucks down the street (she personally preferred it and rarely went to Beanies because of that reason), but Hannah kept giving her sister longing looks while they were driving through downtown. It wasn’t soon after when Lex caved and bought them a couple of croissants and some cocoa from the overpriced shop. They later found themselves wandering the heavily decorated downtown Hatchetfield, stopping and listening to carollers for a good half hour as Hannah flapped her hands happily. To be honest, that was what gave Lex the idea to go see a musical. The Starlight theater itself didn’t have any shows playing that night, so Lex came to the conclusion that they’d try to catch something at the cineplex in the mall. After scrolling through the cineplex website, the pair came to the decision to see some cheesy flick called “Santa Claus is Going to Highschool.” It wasn’t the typical movie either girl would choose to watch (Hannah having turned thirteen recently and deciding she was too old for everything despite Lex’s disagreement), but they concluded that a cheesy kids musical was exactly what they needed going into the holiday season.

Now the pair were sitting together in the dimly lit lobby of the Hatchetfield cineplex. It was an unimpressive venue like the aesthetic of most of Hatchetfield. The carpet looked like it was torn straight from an 80s themed arcade, there was a singular ticket counter jammed at the entrance, and the snack counter near the six theaters always seemed to be producing the aroma of burnt popcorn. The rush crowds of the day had calmed down which had left the lobby almost devoid of people. Lex turned her attention to the small crowds gathered around the room. Of the small crowds, Lex recognized the barista from their trip to Beanies leaning up against a man significantly taller than her. The short woman was glaring at a moustached man who seemed to be flailing his arms every which way. Looking towards the unmanned snack counter Lex noticed a woman with short curly hair wearing a periwinkle sweater, speaking quietly on the phone. Glancing back over at the barista, she was now joined by a man and a girl she recognized as Alice Woodward who moved to Clivesdale their Junior year. The two had never been particularly close but Lex took note of her anyway. Lex then turned her head towards the theater hallway. She noticed her former shop teacher Tom Houston talking to a red headed woman and… was that Ethan Green? God, she hadn’t seen him since she dropped out of school to support Hannah and her mother. 

She fidgeted with her phone case for a moment, debating if she should approach either Alice or Ethan. She had never been particularly close with either teen, but she hadn’t seen anybody from school aside from the stoner kids she sold to. Now that she thought of it, wasn’t Deb dating Alice now? She wasn’t completely sure, Alice had always seemed to be a bit too preppy for Deb’s type. Wait. Deb. Shit, she had almost forgotten about Deb. The pair had agreed to meet in the parking lot at the security camera blind spot in twenty minutes. Lex would have definitely preferred not to be meeting up with Deb on a night out with Hannah, she just needed the extra cash to get the pair… well somewhere. Anywhere was quite honestly better than the hellhole that was Hatchetfield and the shitshow that was her mother. And it wasn't like she was leaving Hannah either, she would be gone for ten minutes at the most. The perfect timing to pretend to use the restroom and come back before the first scene even ended, right? Hannah was also plenty capable enough to be alone for a few minutes. Unless some creep came along and-

“Anxious?” Hannah suddenly piped up beside her, throwing off Lex’s thoughts. Her sister was looking down at Lex's hands. Lex followed her gaze, realizing she had scratched the side of her thumb raw.

Lex shoved her hands into her pockets and gave a half forced smile. “I’m okay Banana, don’t worry.” She was definitely in need of a cigarette, but she had promised her sister a long time ago she wouldn't smoke on their nights together and she planned to upkeep that promise. Lex decided to not even think about it any more. She switched the subject, “How about after this, we get some ice cream? I know it’s kind of cold but we can eat it inside the mall if you want.” Lex suggested, taking her non-scratched hand out of her pocket and holding it towards her sister. “Maybe some Banana Foster for Hannah Foster?” 

“Sounds good.” Hannah said in agreement, grabbing ahold of Lex's hand. Together the pair stood up and began walking towards the theaters. Lex quickly checked her phone, _7:53_. They only made it a few feet before Hannah abruptly stopped, letting go of Lex's hand and clutching her temples. “Safe,” the girl said, squinting. “For the meantime.” She looked up at her older sister.

Lex was used to cryptic phrases, especially on days like today when Hannah was relatively nonverbal. Lex didn't mind them and Hannah typically never acknowledged them farther than a quick mention of her imaginary friend. But now, Hannah was full on facing her and presumably waiting for a response. Lex opened her mouth for a moment, unsure of how to respond. “Is that something Webby said?" She finally settled with. The girl nodded, not quite making eye contact. “Does Webby say anything else?” Lex followed up.

“Boiler, trapped,” Hannah paused for a moment, almost as if she were listening. “Saved but not safe.” She finished after a beat of silence. Hannah then once again reached for Lex's hand and began leading her to the theaters. Lex wasn’t sure if Hannah’s sudden ignorance of the topic was based in either her anxiety or the lack of it. EIther way, Hannah was very obviously ignoring continuing their conversation. 

She didn’t have much time to ponder it farther as a crowd of people suddenly began to stream out of the entrance to the theater hallway and towards the sisters. Among the crowd was Frank Pricely with a young boy and girl. The two made eye contact for approximately two seconds before reaching the mutual agreement to ignore the other. Lex followed her boss with her eyes for a moment longer after they broke eye contact. The boy and girl had left his side and began running towards a woman waiting in the lobby with outstretched arms. Frank gave the kids and woman a wave and proceeded to take a phone call. At that point, Lex’s focus returned to Hannah. 

Together, the sisters weaved their way through the rest of the oncoming crowd and into theater three. The large screen was already playing an ad as the pair weaved into the theater alongside the entering crowd. The theater itself was divided into four sections, an aisle separating the front and back and another aisle separating the right and left. The back half consisted of ten rows on a staircase, each a row level higher than the last. The front half had a floor that was slanted slightly, only consisting of about five rows. The theater itself could only fit a little over a hundred people, but even then the little venue wasn’t even halfway occupied. 

Lex led Hannah to the very back row, as far as the speakers as the pair could get. They finally took their seats in the back right corner. They let go of each other and sat down. She handed Hannah her phone, the girl began to quietly play a game as Lex leaned her head back against the wall. She closed her eyes and just breathed. Her mind went completely blank. For a moment there wasn’t work, bills, Frank, their mother, or anything else. Just Hannah and Lex simply existing. It was almost peaceful. 

A minute passed and Lex lifted her head from the wall, turning to Hannah. “Can I have that back for a moment?” She asked, gesturing towards the phone. Hannah nodded, handing it to her sister. “Thank you.”

Lex checked the time, _7:59_. She had just over fifteen minutes before she had to meet Deb. She was just about to hand Hannah back the phone when the lights in the theater began to dim. A final few ads played before a bassline with a quiet chant began to play over the speakers. 

_Jingle Jangle Jingle Jangle._

The first number played out, introducing Kris Kringle and his love interest as well as his shitty principal and a handful of quirky side characters. It was cute and quite frankly catchy. Actually the more Lex thought about it, it was kind of creepy that an old man was going to fall in love with a teenager. She was also pretty sure that Father Winter and Santa were the same person, but she ultimately decided to ignore the implications and just watch the movie.

As soon as the opener ended, she checked her phone again, the screen now reading _8:05_. She leaned over to Hannah. “I’m going to run to the bathroom. I’ll be back in a little bit, okay,” She whispered.

“Saved but not safe.” Hannah simply said in response, a small whimper on the edge of her voice. Even in the faint lighting, Lex could see the fear and concern in Hannah’s eyes. 

“I’ll be safe, okay? I’ll be back before the next number even starts.” Lex said as she began to stand up. Hannah nodded, whether it was in agreement or in realization that she couldn’t get her to stay, Lex wasn’t sure. She squeezed through the row of seats and out of the door. In the lobby was relatively the same crowd as before. Alice had left, leaving the adults alone. Ethan Green, Mr. Houston, and the red haired woman were still chatting by the hallway. Beside that, there was now a bearded man wearing a leather coat sitting where Lex had been. He was staring at a tablet, a camera sitting in his lap.

Lex turned her attention back to the exit. Just as she took another step, the floor shook. The entire lobby stood still for a moment in shock. Everyone looked at each other for just a moment, the same look of confusion written in their faces.

“What the hell was-” the mustached man had begun when the floor rumbled once again, this time accompanied by a loud crash. The entire lobby stumbled and began shouting.

“Xander!” She heard the man on the bench shout as he shot up. 

There was another tremor, and the entire crowd made a run for the entrance. There were screams. Lex stumbled into a run. She watched the mustached man push the barista to the ground out of the corner of her eye. The lanky man turned back to help her. The sweater lady was now being half dragged by Alice’s father. Frank was off his phone and frozen in the middle of the room. Lex turned her head for a moment, seeing Mr. Houston pushing Ethan forwards, the red haired woman directly behind him. Despite the rushing of everyone in that room, there simply wasn’t enough time. They didn't even stand a chance as the floor erupted under their feet.

~~~

_19:49, Exterior of Hatchetfield Mall_

Xander Lee sat in the passenger seat of the black SUV, staring intently at a tablet in his hand. He was focused on the small spike on the screen next to sensor 45-E at approximately _19:38_ that evening. It was located at the Hatchetfield mall, signaling a 

small but notable anomaly somewhere near Macy's. A moment passed and Xander looked up from the screen. Next to him sat General John McNamara , his blue eyes focused intently on the road laid in front of him. Xander couldn’t help but stare, a smile growing on his face. John's red hair had been tied back in a low pony and his beard looked as if it had been freshly trimmed. Today,the bearded man had civilian clothing on: black jeans, a baseball cap, and a grey shirt covered by Xander’s own leather jacket. John wasn’t actually on duty that day, he had just volunteered to attend Xander as he checked a sensor anomaly in downtown Hatchetfield. After a minute passed, John caught Xander’s eyes in the rearview mirror and reciprocated his smile. 

“And what are you looking at?” John asked, with a growing grin in his voice.

“Nothing, there’s just a very handsome guy driving and I thought I would just appreciate it while I could.” 

John gave a short laugh. “That’s not very professional.” His eyes focused back on the quickly approaching mall parking lot at the end of the road.

“Well lucky for me that we’re technically off duty.” Xander responded, following John’s gaze as the other man threw on the blinker and pulled into the lot. 

"I am a very serious person. I feel as if you would have learned this during your tenure with this organization.” John stated, “I am always professional. On and off duty" He finished, guiding the SUV through the rows of the parking lot. 

"Well that's a baldfaced lie." Xander said, glancing back at the rearview mirror into John’s eyes. The bearded man simply grinned in response, pulling the SUV into a spot and throwing the gear into park. The pair both unbuckled and swung open their respective doors. The cold, Michigan air struck Xander’s face hard, a chill quickly running down his spine. Wisps of snow fell from the black sky, hinting at an upcoming December storm. 

“I’m just focusing on the technicalities of the situation: we’re examining an anomaly. Shouldn’t we be professional?” John retorted after a moment passed, pushing the door shut. Xander simply gave a breathy chuckle as he swung a backpack over his shoulder. The equipment inside the bag shifted with a jingle as the pair began making their way towards the mall.

“We have anomalies similar to this every week. More likely than not, it’s some black and white sensitive civilian having a bad case of deja vu. It wasn’t a very strong signal...” Xander paused for a moment, “...which reminds me that I wanted to adjust the sensitivity while we’re here.” He looked up at the mall entrance. In whole, the mall wasn’t overly massive. It was two stories with it’s bottom floor dug into the earth and triangle skylights peeking over the mall’s hallway. The entrance itself had a fairly modern design: cursive letters spelling out Hatchetfield Mall were situated in front of dimly lit white panels situated above a series of doors leading into the vestibule. 

“Isn’t that relatively important? I mean this is what PEIP is searching for, isn’t it?” John said as he reached towards the handles of the door and held it open as Xander walked through. Xander then proceeded to hold open the second door at the other end of the vestibule as John walked through. He followed close behind him as he walked into the open room. The walls and ceiling were a dull beige, the floor was tiled with white with grey patterns scattered about. Shops lined the corridor, most of them closed or now closing. The pair made their way to the escalators leading to the basement level. 

“PEIP has been aware of these citizens for years. We have over twenty-five years of research on these anomaly citizens. What we’re really looking for is why Hatchetfield is the epicenter of all these anomalies.” Xander responded, checking the screen of the tablet. The small numbers in the corner read _19:52_ , nearly fifteen minutes after the anomaly had set off the sensor. In the center of the tablet was a series of fluctuating graphs and signals. He could see the slight dimensional anomaly that constantly emitted from the town, but there was nothing of note beside the recent spike. 

“I am aware of this Xan, I’m just curious as to why these...” John paused for a moment as a stray teenaged girl with blonde highlights walked by them in the otherwise empty mall. He followed the citizen with his eyes until she was out of earshot. “...why these anomaly citizens aren’t revisited from a different angle.” He continued, slightly quieter this time. 

“John, we’ve already covered every angle we can think of. These citizens don’t seem to be a source, but rather a by-product of Hatchetfield.” Xander said as they reached the escalator and began to descend to the lowest level of the mall, the Macy’s sign coming into view alongside the closed Toyzone and craft-shops. 

“This is true.” John stated, nodding. A beat of silence passed as Xander tried to think of a response.

“It’s not like we’re ignoring these citizens, we’re just also looking for-” His tablet gave a loud series of beeps, a much larger spike flashing across the screen at _19:53_. The sensor 45-A was highlighted in red. “How convenient. We’re looking for stronger anomalies such as this.” John leaned over to look at Xander’s tablet just as the anomaly began to calm.

“Which one is that?” John inquired.

“45-A. Not the same sensor as earlier. This one is by the cineplex on the first floor.” Xander clicked a couple buttons to see the exact statistics of the now faint signal. “This certainly isn’t a rift, but it isn’t just an overlap either.” 

“Maybe we can catch the cause?” John questioned. 

Xander nodded, rushing up the second escalator with John close behind. The pair jogged towards the cineplex, the tablet now silent. As they approached the cineplex foyer, dodging the occasional stray mall-goer. They quickly passed through the wide entrance into the cineplex lobby, earning an annoyed look from the handful of people waiting in the area. Xander swung off his bag and slowed to a stop, unzipping it. He knelt down and fished out a case, throwing open the latches to reveal a camera-like object. He noted the stream of civilians now exiting the theaters and making their way to the exit. Turning his focus back to the camera, he attached a USB cable to the device and plugged the other end into his tablet. On the screen was a black image, a steady white static flashing across the screen. 

“I’m not seeing any residual energy.” Xander noted, turning the camera to face different parts of the room. “That’s strange, for a signal that strong you would think there’d be at least something.” 

“Maybe it was in one of the theaters?” John suggested.

Xander shook his head. “I have a separate sensor for those. It was definitely in the lobby.” 

“Could the anomaly have changed locations? It’s possible that it could have made a leap to a different place?” 

Xander shook his head once more. “No, that would have involved some form of rift. The signal would be significantly stronger.” The pair stood dumbfounded for a moment. “Either the anomaly was a human who moved, or I need to recalibrate the sensor. Seeing how I need to adjust the 45 sensor series, I’m going to go with the latter.” Xander finally concluded. 

“Do you want me to stay with the camera while you go fix it?” John asked. “I can watch for a repeat anomaly.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a plan.” Xander said. “Give me a shout if you pick up on something, okay? I got to input a thousand codes when I recalibrate, so I’ll be a minute.” John gave him a smile and nodded. Xander turned and exited the lobby and back into the main corredor of the mall, following a woman with a young boy and girl exiting the venue. He turned the corner and away from the civilian, and approached what seemed to be an electrical panel within shouting distance of the cineplex. He inserted a key and opened it. Inside was a small analog screen above a number pad to the left of a large empty panel. He entered a series of numbers, and the box gave a small beep. The analog screen lit up with the word _“Disengaged.”_ He then proceeded to unscrew the blank metal panel. 

Underneath the panel was a black digital screen situated above a series of switches. He punched a different code into the keypad on the left, the analog screen now reading _“Powering on.”_ On the right, the digital screen showed a list of various sensors and graphs similar to his tablet. He pressed the label called _“45-E”_ and looked at the calibration settings. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. In fact, it didn’t look like it was calibrated any different than the other sensors Xander had set up. He furrowed his brow as he punched yet another code into the keyboard next to the screen. He mumbled nonsense to himself as his finger hovered above the button labeled reset. He pressed it and waited for a moment as the screen flashed _"Recalibrating… Recalibrating…"_ Finally, the device beeped, now stating _“Enter code.”_ Xander sighed as he once again typed another code into the keypad on the left. _“Recalibration Complete, 20:07.”_ He shut down the digital screen and screwed the removable panel back onto the box. He typed the final code into the keyboard, the analog screen flashing _“Reengaged.”_ He closed the box and relocked it. He turned away from the panel and back towards the cineplex. 

In that moment as Xander was about to reenter the lobby, the floor gave a rumble. He stopped in his tracks. 

“What the hell was-” He heard a voice begin when it was suddenly cut off by a loud crash. Xander was running now. Inside the lobby, he could see the panicked crowd frantically looking at each other. 

"Xander!" He heard John shout. Xander stumbled forwards, making eye contact with him. There was another loud crash, sending a tremor through the building. The entire crowd was scrambling. Xander hadn’t even been able to make it into the obby when the floor erupted. All he could see was a bright flash of light, and for a moment Xander was weightless. The feeling was over quickly as he slammed into the floor thirty feet behind him. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t move. Pain ran up the entire front of his body. His mouth was open, but he couldn’t make a noise. What seemed like an eternity passed before he could finally budge. He had to get to John, he had to- 

He sat up, the scream finally escaping his lungs. Black entered the corner of his vision as a shooting pain stabbed his chest. His legs were screaming as he stood.

“John!” He shouted. He could barely hear himself over this sound of ringing in his ears. He limped towards the cineplex. “John!” The ringing kept getting louder, the pain in his legs and chest growing. “John!” He stumbled into the lobby, the floor was cracked and collapsed. “John!” Warm sticky liquid was dripping into his eyes. A metallic taste entered his mouth. He fell onto his knees, the ruins of the lobby in front of him. “John!” He croaked as water began to pour from the sprinklers. The tablet and camera where sitting shattered on what used to be the bench. Smoke was rising from the hole in the center of the lobby. Tears joined the water and blood dripping down his face.There was no red splattered against the walls. There were no bodies of the small crowd standing in the lobby just moments before. There was no sign of anybody at all. There was nothing but Xander in a ruined lobby.

“John…” He choked, collapsing onto the ground. The world went black.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm not quite sure when I'll post the next chapter, but hopefully it will be out by the end of next week. Please comment if you liked it!


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